In playback of digital audio on computers, software must write each buffer ahead of the play cursor, such that there is a guarantee that the buffer will be played from start to end, i.e. when the play cursor advances to the location of the buffer. If the buffer is written such that the play cursor is already advanced past the beginning of where the buffer is written, then part of the buffer will not be played and there will be discontinuity in the audio signal. Neither of these conditions is acceptable.
In conventional architecture, the program typically queries the operating system or audio driver for the current play cursor position. This yields a value that is neither accurate nor precise. In some cases, the driver or operating system adds additional padding, and in some cases the program itself does this step. The result is additional latency, which is undesirable.
A need exists for a process, preferable a software process, to reduce or eliminate this type of latency in audio playback.